DEVELOPMENT OF FLAT PLATE CERAMIC FUEL ELEMENTS. Technical Progress Letter No. 14 for Summary of work done from January 1, 1959 to February 28, 1960

Technical Report · Wed Mar 23 04:00:00 EST 1960

OSTI ID:4132303

Fargo, J J

The development of a process to fabricate flat ceramic plates of urania by use of a rolling method to form the raw powder and binder into sheets is reported. The process used for rolling Ceramic Veneer was successfully modified to produce thin sheets of urania, rolled 4.25 in. wide, 24 in. long, and 0.040 to 0.084 in. in thickness. Pieces of the rolled strip were flred in hydrogen to give sintered sheets as large as 1.5 in. wide by 6.5 in. long, with densities up to 95% of theoretical. A study of organic temporary binders suggested that cellulose in toluene plus an addition of camphor was best able to yield a strong, continuous sheet of rolled material that had good density and fired well. Firing in dry hydrogen at 3050 deg F on molybdenum sheets gave best results. Six commercially available types of urania powder were evaluated for their suitability as raw materials for forming by the rolling process. (W.L.H.)

• Research Organization: Gladding, McBean and Co., Los Angeles
• NSA Number: NSA-15-001812
• OSTI ID: 4132303
• Report Number(s): TID-6569
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CELLULOSE
FUEL ELEMENTS
METALS, CERAMICS, AND OTHER MATERIALS
PLATES
POWDERS
ROLLING
SINTERING
URANIUM OXIDES